Letters
Greece turns left
Sir: So Professor Devletoglou is at it again. The last time I commented on one of his articles he was arguing in a contemporary of yours, ostensibly from a leftist point of view, that Mr Karamanlis had systematically eliminated all opposition, that the junta's philosophy was still alive and kicking in Greece and that men like Mr Mavros and Mr Papandreou had no choice before them but revolution.
Now, in your columns, Professor Devletoglou, with equal absurdity if not consistency, is accusing Mr Karamanlis of moving Greece leftwards. What evidence does he produce? None whatever. Some of his assertions are so ridiculous or inaccurate that they hardly require comment. He says that Mr Karamanlis 'did conspicuously little to prevent' the Cyprus disaster 'while planning his return to power from Paris.' How can anybody be expected to take that extraordinary assertion seriously ? He says that Mr Karamanlis did nothing at election time to suggest that the 'legalisation of communism' was his ultimate goal. In fact the communist party or rather parties had already been legalised, as one would expect in a democratic system, and were freely taking part in the election. He compares the situation in Greece, where the communist party has very little electoral support and is split into three factions, with that in Italy.
Professor Devletoglou points to 'the left's onward march' in the universities. That is hardly peculiar to Greece and hardly a matter for so much concern. He says that the Labour movement has been 'captured'. In fact supporters of Andreas Papandreou's left-wing PASOK and the Communist Party of the Exterior are in a minority in the trade union leadership. The social peace and relative freedom from labour unrest that Greece now enjoys might be a matter of envy in some European countries. Professor Devletoglou asks whether Mi Karamanlis is 'finished'. What anybody with any knowledge of Greece must be aware of is the continued widespread approval of Mr Karamanlis in spite of perfectly healthy criticism of details. This approval does not extend to the editorial columns of Eleftheros Kosmos, the newspaper which was the most ardent champion of the junta, where Professor Devletoglou's views most often appear.
In former junta circles a systematic attempt is being made to present Mr Karamanlis as a crypto-socialist. That is one of the many signs that he is still indispensable to the maintenance of democracy in Greece. Hugh Greene 10 Palace Gate, London W8
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